Rules of Love

There are two types of people in high school: the ones you can date and the ones you can't. Unfortunately for me, I'm the latter. Even though I'm around hot football players every afternoon, they are not allowed to date me. If they even come close to flirting, my dad, Coach "The Boss" Davis, makes them run laps around the field until they puke. Nothing scares off a boy more than the threat of physical pain. Not only has he forbidden me to date anyone at all, he's even made me the football team's water girl so he can keep tabs on me. Apparently, overprotective dad is a fabulous guy deterrent. Outdoor shops should find a way to bottle it and sell it. They'd make a killing. What Dad doesn't know is that I spend every last second of those two blissful hours of practice in the scorching California heat staring at Tyson Blake. He is the epitome of perfection in a six-foot-two, incredibly toned, smells-good-even-when-he-sweats senior body. And when he smiles, angels sing. Literally. And Dad hates him. It feels a bit cliche to say I fell for the one guy who would send Dad's already high blood pressure over the top, but it's true. There's something about Tyson. Something he's trying to hide. But I can see through his cocky persona, and I know there's something more.

It was supposed to be a simple kiss. That was all. Whoops. My plan was perfect: convince my best friend and school quarterback, Ethan, to be the final prize for my matchmaking test where the proceeds go to sending the band to Paris. Plus, if it matches me with my lifelong crush, that's a bonus, right? What could go wrong? Apparently, a lot. First, the test matches me and Ethan. Which is easy to explain. Computers make mistakes all the time, right? Second, the girl I switch myself for seems perfect for Ethan. Maybe a bit too perfect. Third, my date with my crush goes horribly wrong, and my first kiss tanks. Now, I'm pretty sure I'm destined to be alone while Ethan rides off into the sunset with his perfect match. Man, I've screwed up bad - especially when I ask Ethan the secrets to a good kiss. Big mistake. Feelings start to change, and I'm pretty sure that our friendship isn't going to be enough anymore. Too bad I seem to be the only one in our duo who seems to feel this way.

A mistletoe kiss is just a simple kiss, right? Wrong. All I want to do during this Christmas break is survive. A week at the cabin with our family's friends/rivals, the Stephensons, every yuletide activity is turned into a competition where my family must win. Every. One. Yep. Lots of Christmas spirit around here. But, I've survived past holidays, there's no reason why I can't survive this one. Until Mom informs me that Jacob Stephenson, my brother's ex-best friend and resident bad boy, is back from his grandmothers after having been gone for the semester. I guess, after you find out your son robbed a gas station, you banish him to the most southern state. Now my ridiculous crush is back in full force and I'm trying really hard to stay away from him. My brother is frustrated that Jacob is home and I'm supposed to put my family above boys. Right? Maybe... I was attempting to be loyal until Jacob and I kiss. Sure, it was a forced one brought on by mistletoe tradition, but there was something in the way he held me and pressed his lips to mine that told me, he just might be feeling something more. But when he keeps pulling away and acting like the bad boy I'm pretty sure is fake, I begin to realize that there's more at stake here then just my heart. A truth that is eating away at him. I just hope I can unearth it before Christmas is over and any chance that I have at discovering the real Jacob disappears.

He was supposed to be my escape for the weekend. I wasn't supposed to fall for him. My life feels as if it's spiraling out of control the moment, Mom and Dad inform me that come Monday, I'm heading to Italy to "get to know" the son of an important business investor. Apparently, it's my responsibility as a daughter of a hotel tycoon or something. I want to be a good daughter, but I'm tired of being looked over. I'm tired of having my life planned out for me. So when I run into Jet Miller, the bad boy with a motorcycle, I pay him to take me away for the weekend. He's convinced that I won't fit into his life, but I don't care. I need this break. Two days of freedom quickly change into something more, and I find myself falling for Jet. Only, he doesn't know that once our 48 hour escape is over, I'm gone. And I don't know how to tell him. Some rules are meant to be broken.